Clay Sears / Janet Jackson

Clay Sears is an accomplished producer, musician, programmer and engineer, having performed and recorded with some of the biggest names in the music industry. A virtuoso guitarist and keyboardist, he is also a talented bassist who brings his vast studio experience and technical knowledge to each project making him a formidable force both in a live and studio setting. Clay started playing at the age of 11, when his father bought him an acoustic guitar. Within three months he was proficient enough to give others lessons, and by the age of 15 was playing professionally on recordings. A highly sought after session player, Clay has either composed, produced or played for some of contemporary music’s biggest names. His list of session work reads like a who’s who of music, in virtually every style. From his earliest gig with Boyz II Men to his work with Britney Spears, Clay’s contributions have been described as “vital”, with his guitar often supplying the hook to countless hits. From there it was a short jump to touring with the likes of Regina Belle, Common, Lauryn Hill and Jill Scott. Today Clay is the guitar player for Pharrell Willams and N.E.R.D. , the internationally known artist and arguably the worlds most successful producer ( Jay-Z, Nelly Furtado, Gwen Stefani). Most recently, Clay played at LIVEEARTH in front of 600,00 people in Rio de Janiero and to more than one billion on TV. Though certaintly an accomplished live player, Clay has recently committed more and more time to the studio, going so far as turning down Christina Aguilera’s offer to tour as her guitar player to focus on studio work. As Clay himself says “The most exciting time in an artist’s career for me is the very begininng, and I am choosing to dedicate myself to helping young talent get the best production they can.”

Harman Press Release about Clay Sears

Clayton “Clay” Sears is a musician, producer, engineer and programmer who has worked and performed with some of the world’s most well-known artists including Britney Spears, Snoop Dogg, De La Soul, Boyz II Men, Ludacris, Joan Osborne and many others. Sears will be busier than ever over the coming months, playing guitar with Janet Jackson on an upcoming tour of Asia and in U.S. shows with Queen Latifah.

When it comes to gear, no one is more demanding than Sears — and he uses a host of DigiTech pedals live and in the studio. His sound-shaping arsenal includes a DigiTech RP-1000 Multi-Effects Switching System, and DigiTech HardWire DL-8 Delay, CR-7 Stereo Chorus, RV-7 Stereo Reverb SC-2 Valve Distortion, TL-2 Metal Distortion and HT-2 Chromatic Tuner pedals. He also uses a GSP 1101 Multi-Effects Preamp/Processor.

“First of all, sound quality is an absolute must above all else,” noted Sears. “If it doesn’t sound good, I really don’t have any use for a particular piece of gear. All, the DigiTech pedals I’m using sound great, and they nail the sounds I’m going for.”

“The CR-7 chorus and RV-7 reverb are standouts,” said Sears. “They sound amazing and I would put them up against any chorus and ‘verb pedals on the market at any price. Also, the RP-1000 multi-effects unit has a lot of sounds, yet is extremely easy to program, which is a major plus when you’re trying to get that perfect sound and don’t have a lot of time to do it.”

Sears continued, “The build quality of the pedals and the GSP 1101 in my equipment rack are all top-notch — solid and roadworthy.” He concluded, “I’ve owned more expensive gear that didn’t sound as good as what I’m using now. DigiTech delivers outstanding sound at very reasonable prices.”